The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing lubrication to a mechanical device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing lubrication to an internal combustion engine which is not operating and may be in partially or fully assembled condition.
An internal combustion engine has many locations where metal-to-metal frictional contact occurs between components. Such frictional contact locations include, for example, crank shaft bearings, cam shafts, valve lifters, connecting rods, and piston rings. They also include journal bearings, roller bearings, sliding cam contacts, and other rotating and/or sliding frictional contacts. These frictional contact locations are often subjected to high loads when the engine is operating. They may also be subject to friction at times when an engine is being assembled and/or rebuilt.
During engine operation, it is known for engines to circulate oil in order to lubricate these frictional parts. In some engines, there will be one or a large number of oil receiving ports through which oil enters, and these ports lead to various oil passages in the engine that carry oil to and from the frictional contact areas. Generally, engines have an oil reservoir or sump, and a pump that draws oil from the reservoir or sump and positively pressurizes it into the various oil receiving ports in order to supply oil under pressure while the engine is running. The oil is supplied under pressure to the ports so that it is forced to the various oil passages and can provide a desirable oil bath and/or oil film at the friction contact areas.
In the case of an engine that has been fully assembled but not yet operated, the frictional contact areas generally do not have any engine oil present. Even if an effort is made to wipe some oil on the various parts as they are assembled, this generally does not provide a very adequate or evenly distributed film of oil. As a result of this, as the engine is being assembled, if it is necessary to rotate or move parts against each other, for example, to align the parts for further assembly, sufficient lubricating oil may not be present.
Further, when the engine is first operated, sufficient lubricating is not present until the pump is able to circulate oil. Accordingly, when an engine is started in this condition, there is an initial time while the engine is operating before the oil pump is able to disperse oil under pressure through the engine. During this initial operating time, component parts may be subject to undesirable friction and/or wear due to the metal-to-metal contact before the oil under pressure reaches the friction contact areas. It would be desirable to be able to lubricate and engine during and/or after assembly before the engine is started.
Oil also can inhibit corrosion of parts. Since a partially assembled engine may be stored for a period of time before the assembly process is completed, it can be desirable to be able to provide a thorough lubrication of the partially assembled engine to reduce corrosion. It can be difficult or impossible to achieve sufficient oil coverage by merely wiping the parts with oil during assembly.
This problem of lack of a sufficient oil film is particularly severe in the context of a newly assembled engine, which at most has only some oil that has been manually wiped on the parts during assembly. However, the problem is also present even for engines that have been operated, and have been stopped and then are restarted. In such a case, during the initial time of engine operation, the parts have frictional contact, but the oil under pressure takes some time to be fully distributed. In the case of an engine that has been operated recently, there may be some residual oil present. However this residual oil may sometimes not be adequate to avoid wear and friction problems, and the longer the amount of time that the engine has been inoperative, the less residual oil film there will be. Consequently, an engine that has not been operated in a very long time may suffer a situation similar to that of an engine that has only just been assembled.
In an effort to alleviate the problem of lack of oil pressure immediately following the start up of an engine that is in full operating condition, it has been known to provide an electrical pump that is operated before the engine is started in order to begin supplying pressurized oil to the various passages. However, this arrangement is complex in that it requires the addition of an additional electric pump that is attached to the engine and which requires power to operate during the time before the engine is started. The need for a power supply and motorized pump add to the cost of the engine. Also, these systems are generally mounted to the engine and integrated with the engine so that they are not readily removed and are not portable. It would be desirable to have a system for lubricating an engine that is self-contained and portable and that can be easily and rapidly hooked up to engine ports to lubricate at least part of an engine.
Further, the systems that have been used to prelubricate engines at start-up provide a substitute way of operating the full oil circulation and supply oil to all ports before the engine is started. Because of this, these prior art arrangements do not provide the ability to selectively insert pressurized oil into one or more ports at an intermediate step during assembly of an engine. These prior art devices also do not provide a convenient mechanism for an engine assembler to prelubricate selected areas of an engine during different stages along the assembly process.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a simple and inexpensive method and apparatus for prelubricating an engine that can be used whether or not the engine is fully assembled, which can selective lubricate various engine oil ports, and which is portable and does not require a power supply to operate.
The present invention can provide a simple and inexpensive method and apparatus for pre-lubricating an engine that can be used whether or not the engine is fully assembled, which can selective lubricate various engine oil ports, and which is portable and does not require a power supply to operate.
The invention in some embodiments also provides an apparatus and method that supplies lubricating fluid to an oil lubricating fluid receiving port of a mechanical device.
In one aspect of the invention, a tank is adapted to hold the lubricating fluid, and a manually operated pump is mounted to the tank. A hose extends from the pump, so that the pump when operated pumps lubricating fluid from the tank into the hose. A shut-off valve is located at an end of the hose, and is manually moveable between an open position and a closed position. An adapter is attached to the shut-off valve and also attaches to the lubricating fluid receiving port, so that operation of the pump when the shut-off valve is in the open position forces lubricating fluid through the tube and through the adapter and into the lubricating fluid receiving port.
In another aspect of the invention, an apparatus is provided for supplying lubricating fluid to an oil receiving port of a mechanical device. The apparatus has means for containing lubricating fluid; a hose; a manually operated means for pumping lubricating fluid from the containing means into the hose; and shut-off means located at the end of the hose, the shut-off means being manually moveable between an open position and a closed position. The apparatus also has attaching means, located on the shut-off means, for attaching with the lubricating fluid receiving port, wherein operation of the pumping means when the shut-off means is in the open position forces lubricating fluid through the hose and through the attaching means into the lubricating fluid port.
In still another aspect of the invention, the invention provides a method for providing lubricating fluid to a lubricating fluid receiving port of a mechanical device. The method includes filling a tank at least partially with the lubricating fluid, attaching an adapter located at an end of a hose to the lubricating fluid receiving port, and manually pumping lubricating fluid from the tank to the adapter via a hose, using a manual pump mounted to the tank
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described below and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein, as well as the abstract, are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.